Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Notes on Books

Written:1912-1916 
      (See each Note for publishing information)Source:Lenin’sCollected Works, 4th Edition, Moscow, 1976,Volume 38, pp. 392-400Publisher:Progress PublishersFirst Published:1933-1938 (See each Note for publishing 
	  information)Translated:Clemence DuttEdited:Stewart SmithTranscription & Markup:K. Goins(2008)Public Domain:Lenin Internet Archive (2008).You may freely copy, distribute, display and 
	  perform this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. 
	  Please credit “Marxists Internet Archive” as your source.

Note that this document has undergone special formating to ensure that 
	  Lenin’s sidenotes fit on the page, marking as best as possible 
	  where they were located in the original manuscript.

NOTES ON BOOKS

F. Raab, Die Philosophie von R. Avenarius. SystematischeDarstellung und immanente Kritik, Leipzig, 1912 (164 p.).5 Mk.

Perrin, Les atomes, Paris (Alcan).[1]

Written not earlier than 1912First Published in 1938 inLenin Miscellany XXXIPublished according to the manuscript

Gideon Spicker, Über das Verhältnis der Naturwissenschaftzur Philosophie(especially versus Kant and Lange’sHis-tory of Materialism).Octavo. Berlin, 1874.IV. W. 57 K.

Hegel, Phänomenologie(hrs. Bolland, 1907).IV. W. 165 g.

Written in 1915First published in 1933 inLenin Miscellany XXIIPublished according to the manuscript

Flugschriften des deutschen Monistenbundes. Heft 3:Albrecht Rau.“Fr. Paulsen über E. Haeckel.”2-teAufl.Brackwede, 1907, (48 SS.)

Written in 1915First published in 1933 InLenin Miscellany XXIIPublished according to the manuscript

Theories of Origin... 1914.(Present-day Culture III, IV).F. Haeckel, Gott-Natur, Leipzig, 1914... Sch. 480 N 24.

Uhde, Feuerbach, Leipzig, 1914 ... XVI. 906.

A. Zart, Bausteine des Weltalls: Atome, Moleküle..Stuttgart, 1913.

Written in 1916First published in 1934 inLenin Miscellany XXVIIPublished according to the manuscript

Ruttmann, Die Hauptergebnisse der modernen Psycholo-gie, Pe. VII. 3551.

Suter, Die Philosophie von Richard Avenarius, 1910 (Diss).St.Bro.11.341

Written in 1916First published in 1936 inLenin Miscellany XXIXPublished according to the manuscript

ON THE REVIEW OF JOH. PLENGE’S BOOKMARX AND HEGEL[5]

Joh. Plenge, Marx and Hegel, Tübingen, 1911.(184 SS.) (Mk. 4).

Written in 1913First published in 1938 inLenin Miscellany XXXIPublished according to the manuscript

ON THE REVIEW OF R. B. PERRY’S BOOKPRESENT PHILOSOPHICALTENDENCIES[6]

Mind. 1913. April. Review by F. C. S. Sculler of RalphBarton Perry’sPresent Philosophical Tendencies:a CriticalSurvey of Naturalism, Idealism, Pragmatism and Realism,together with a Synopsis of the Philosophy of WilliamJames, London and New York. (Longmans & Co.). 1912.383 pages.

Schiller is against Perry’s “realism” and makes the chargethat “his mind is so preoccupied with the metaphysicalantithesis between realism and idealism that he is alwaystrying to reduce all other issues to this.”

It is to be noted that Schiller quotes the following pas-sage from Perry: “The organism is correlated with an en-vironment, from which it evolved and on which it acts.Consciousness is a selective response to a pre-existing andindependently existing environment. There must be some-thing to be responded to, if there is to be any response”(p. 323 in Perry’s book). And Schiller raises the objection:

“Unless the question is begged in the ‘independentlyexist-ing environment’” (Schiller’s italics), “nothing is hereproved except thecorrelationof the mind and its ‘environ-ment’”... (p. 284).

Written later than April 1913First published in 1938 inLenin Miscellany XXXIPublished according to the manuscript

ON THE REVIEW OF A. ALIOTTA’S BOOKTHE IDEALIST REACTION AGAINSTSCIENCE[7]

Antonio Aliotta:La reazione idealistica contro la sciensa.1 vol. 8°. XVI + 526 pages. Palerme. Casa editrice Optima,1912.

Review inRevue Philosophique(Ribot). Paris, 1912,No. 12, pp. 644--646, by J. Segond, who states:

“He” (Aliotta) “shows us in agnosticism all the latestsources of contemporary reaction; he shows how it de-velops through German (Riehi) and French (Renouvier)neo-criticism, the empirio-criticism of Mach and Avenarius,and English neo-Hegelianism; he describes and exposes theintuitionism of Bergson and Schmitt, the Anglo-Americanpragmatism of W. James, Dewey and Schiller, the philos-ophy of values and the historicism of Rickert, Croce, Mün-sterberg and Royce,” etc. (645), and so on up to Schuppe,Cohen and others.

In the second part the author examines the energeticsof Ostwald and “the new physics des qualités”[8]of Duhemand the “theory of models” of Hertz, Maxwell and Pastore.The author particularly dislikes, he says, mysticism (includ-ing that of Bergson), etc.

The point of view of the author is stated to be “the spir-it of the happy mean of truly rational intellectualism,that of M. Aliotta and of M. Chiapelli.” (645)

Written in 1913First published in 1938 inLenin Miscellany XXXIPublished according to the manuscript

REMARKS ON HILFERDING’S VIEWS ON MACH(INFINANCE CAPITAL)[9]

Hilferding: Finance Capital.(“The LatestPhase in the Development of Capitalism”). Moscow, 1912

Written not later than June 1916First published in 1934inLenin Miscellany XXVIIPublished according to the manuscript

[1]The entry on the books by Raab and Perrin was made 
	in a notebook entitled “Austrian Agricultural Statistics, etc.” 
	not earlier than 1912.

[2]The entry on the books under the headingFrom 
	Books on Philosophy in the Zürich Cantonal Librarywas made in the 
	first notebook (notebook “α”) on imperialism in 1915.

[3]The entry under the headingCantonal Library in 
	Zürichwas made in the first notebook on imperialism (notebook 
	“α”) in 1915.

[4]The entry under the general headingSection III. 
	(Works of informative and scientific content), containing reference to 
	the books by Haeckel, Uhde and Zart, was made in a notebook on imperialism 
	(notebook “ε”) in 1916.

[5]Note on the Review of Johann Plenge’s book
	“Marx and Hegel”was written in 1913, amidst bibliographical 
	excerpts on various questions, in the notebook “Austrian Agricultural 
	Statistics, etc.”

[6]Remarks on the Review of R. B. Perry’s book
	“Present Philosophical Tendencies”—written after April 
	1913 in the notebook “Austrian Agricultural Statistics, etc.”

[7]Remarks on the Review of A. Aliotta’s book
	“The Idealist Reaction Against Science”—written in 1913 at 
	the end of the notebook “Austrian Agricultural Statistics, etc.”

[8]of qualities—Ed.

[9]Remarks on Hilferding’s Views on Mach (in 
	“Finance Capital”)—contained in notebook “θ”on imperialism.